Door Number Three
by Annie789
Summary: James and Sirius accidentally unleash an ancient evil force that, if left unchecked, will destroy the world.  The only way to stop it is to cast a series of spells that requires death to complete.  "For The Greater Good" Challenge Response.


Title: Door Number Three  
Rating: PG-13 for (major) character death  
Note: This fic is one half of a mirror-fic challenge project written with Lane Winree. The premise of the story is that James Potter and Sirius Black inadvertently release an ancient evil force. They have a short period of time to stop it before it destroys Hogwarts and the surrounding areas, but stopping it comes with the price of a life. As there were two potential outcomes, we each took one. This is my contribution. Read both, they make more sense together. And yes, this fic is an AU.  
_Disclaimer:_ _I do not own Harry Potter._

~...~...~

It had been years since a student died at Hogwarts.

His footsteps heavy, Albus Dumbledore trudged towards the hospital wing. He was still haunted by images of the last child to die at Hogwarts, and not because she now haunted the girls' lavatory. What he saw today…he knew he would never forget any of it. Remus Lupin running breathlessly into his office, reporting that James Potter and Sirius Black had been trapped in a cave. The eventual realization of just where Black and Potter were and what they had undoubtedly discovered. Rushing to the mountain with Minerva McGonagall. Breaking through the rockslide that had trapped the boys, only to find one draped over the dead body of the other.

They were the images of his worst nightmares come to life.

Pushing open the door to the hospital wing, Dumbledore paused as his eyes fell upon the lone occupied bed in the room. The blankets had been heaped over its resident, blocking all signs of him from view. His gaze drifted to the chair beside the bed where Remus Lupin sat, his face unreadable. Lupin's eyes met his, prompting the boy to lean over and speak softly to his friend. The mound of blankets shifted slightly, then became still once more.

What to say to them? He didn't want to alienate either boy from the other; both would need friends in the difficult days ahead. At the same time, he needed an unedited account of what had happened, and he didn't know what information had been shared between the two. If certain details had been omitted, he didn't want to be the one to reveal them.

Before he had a chance to decide how to best handle the situation, Lupin began to rise from the chair. A pale hand shot out from the mound of blankets, grasping Lupin's wrist. "Moony. Stay."

"Am I allowed to stay, Professor?" Lupin looked up at him.

Dumbledore looked at the young man over the top of his glasses. "How much do you know, Mr. Lupin?"

"Most of it. I – he didn't tell me what happened after the cave-in, but I figured it out. It…" Lupin glanced down at the mound of blankets, then at his worn tennis shoes. His voice dropped to a whisper, "I know how he died, if that's what you're asking."

The blankets whimpered.

_And yet you stayed._ Most people would have reviled the person who killed their friend. "Very well, Mr. Lupin. If you agree to remain silent, you may stay for the time being. If you're later asked to leave…"

"I will." The boy nodded and returned to his chair.

"I hate to do this right now," Dumbledore pulled a second chair up beside the bed, "But I have two sets of parents on their way. I need to know everything that happened before they arrive."

"I know." The muffled response came from under the blankets. There was a pause, and then, slowly, a dark head appeared over the top of the mound. "I know," he repeated, rubbing the back of his hand over red, swollen eyes. The boy took in a deep breath and let it out. Without dropping his death-grip on Lupin's arm, he looked up at the headmaster. "What…what do you need to know?"

Dumbledore tried to give the boy a reassuring look, but suspected it did little to help. "Why don't you start at the beginning?"

~...~...~

James was singing to himself again. Gritting his teeth, Sirius Black tried to block it out. His usual tricks - ignoring it, drowning it out as if it was his mum, imagining Muggle girls in bikinis – all failed him. That song was just so _annoying_. If James didn't stop singing that damn nursery rhyme…. "Prongs! Enough already!"

"Sorry, mate." James replied. Although he couldn't see his friend from where they were inching along the narrow rock ledge, Sirius knew James's was wearing an apologetic look. "I just can't get it out of my head. Blame Moony."

"I heard that!" Remus Lupin's voice called from below.

"I do blame you, Moony!" Sirius hollered down to his friend as he followed James along the ledge. "You never should have told us this place was real! Now Prongs won't stop singing about it!"

"Can't help it," James told him. "It got stuck in my head." There was a pause before he asked, "Did you ever realize how dark kids' rhymes are?"

"I don't really think about them, no," Sirius replied.

"I mean, why tell your child a story in which the hero has to choose between his best mate and saving the world? Who comes up with this stuff? You'd have to be pretty sick to be sitting around and go, 'Hey, I have a great idea for a story. Let's make some poor bloke awaken an ancient evil and the only way to stop it from destroying the world is to have him kill his best mate.' And then, to make it even stranger, you turn it into a song with a 'deedlee-doo' chorus."

He suspected it was meant to be a morality tale on why friendship was more valuable than material wealth, as the characters in the rhyme had been originally motivated by treasure. Instead of arguing the finer points of morality tales with James, Sirius chose to counter with, "You'd also have to be pretty sick to actually drag your best mates on a random trip trying to find out whether the story is real or not."

"Oh, come on, you know you love this," James ribbed him. "Who doesn't love an adventure? Hey! I made it!" There was a scuffing noise to the left as James scrambled onto something.

Sirius continued to inch along the ledge, trying – and failing – to not look down. When they first arrived at the mountain and he'd gotten a good look at things, he assumed the initial climb was going to be the worst. Once they'd discovered that it was far easier to do as animals than people – and after leaving Remus stranded at the bottom of the cliff – he'd thought it would be easy going…and it was until they reached the final fifty yards. Inching along a thin ledge worn from the rock and well over a hundred meters above the ground seemed like a much better idea _before_ they were half way out and he looked down.

"You guys, I still don't think this is a good idea," Remus hollered up to them. "You know we aren't supposed to leave Hogsmeade!"

"We aren't supposed to do a lot of things," James replied. "Just keep quiet and keep a look out. When Padfoot gets here, we'll throw you a rope!"

"Less hollering," Sirius complained, "More helping. How much further?"

"A little less than two meters," Remus advised.

"Hang on a sec." There was more noise from the left and then James's hand firmly grasped his wrist. "I've got you. You're almost here."

"Had we been thinking," Sirius grunted as he inched towards James, "We would have brought brooms."

"We never would have gotten them past McGonagall. She already thinks we're up to something and that would have really tipped her off," James said. "Of course, that could be because we _are_ up to something. One more step and you've made it."

Sirius felt the rock disappear behind his left foot and slowly slid it back. Solid ground greeted him, and he quickly slipped onto the lip of the cavern. Breathing heavily, he dropped to the ground. "That was a lot harder than I thought."

"It would have been easier if Wormtail was here," James agreed. "That ledge would have been no problem for a rat."

"Don't see why his cousin had to get married on a Hogsmeade weekend," Sirius complained.

"Eh, he wouldn't have been keen on climbing up here anyway. He's worse with heights than you are." James pulled the length of rope from Sirius's shoulder and started to meander into the cavern.

"I am not bad with heights!" Sirius hollered after him. It was just the looking down part that was sometimes sobering, especially when he didn't have a broom or anything else to prevent him from falling. He pushed himself to his feet and followed James into the cavern. "Oi! Prongs! The rope's not that long! We have to tie it someplace up by the mouth!"

"Pads," James called back, breathless. "You have got to see this! _Lumos_."

Curious, Sirius followed his friend further into the cave. He stopped beside James, his eyes scanning over the intricate carvings in the rock wall illuminated by the light of James's wand.

"You take Ancient Runes," James whispered. "What does it say?"

He squinted at the runes, trying to remember the translations. He should have paid more attention in class...then again, Moony was the one who got ancient runes. Sirius ran his fingers over the words as bits and pieces came together. It was the warning, just like in the song. This place was part of the story all right. He turned to look at the cave, "I think this is it. So where's the treasure?"

"There's got to be a doorway here somewhere," James said excitedly. "Help me look."

Moony forgotten, Sirius removed his own wand from his pocket. "_Lumos._" Holding it above his head, he moved away from James and began scanning the wall. Stone, stone, and more stone. "You know, Prongs, sometimes a story is just that. A story. Maybe the composer climbed up here one day, was inspired, and thought 'Aha! This is the story that will make me more famous than Beedle the Bard!'"

"Or maybe he slipped through this hole right here and the real adventure began," James announced proudly. Sirius barely managed to turn in time to see James disappear through a narrow gap between several large boulders. "Looks like this used to be a larger entrance," James mused from the other side. "Wonder what happened?"

"Cave-in?" Sirius stepped up to the hole, warily looking up at the rocks. "Prongs, you know how I don't have a problem with heights?"

"Yeah, I know. I was just giving you a hard time," James remarked, climbing further into the cave.

"Uh, yeah, well, I do have a problem with the thought of being trapped in a small space forever." Sirius shuddered.

"This rock slide happened years and years ago. See." James pushed on the nearest boulder. Nothing happened. "This hole isn't going anywhere. Come on. There's something bright further down here."

Somewhere in the pit of his stomach, something told him that bright things did not belong in caves. Shiny objects and warnings of doom usually did not lead to a happy ending. _But that's just in stories,_ Sirius consoled himself as he crawled through the hole after James, _The cave is just getting to you. You know those types of things don't actually happen in real life_.

The hole itself wasn't long, but getting through it felt like an eternity. Sirius took a deep breath as he dropped to the ground on the other side and found himself inside an even larger cavern. He held his wand above his head; from where he stood, if he squinted, he could just barely see the bottom most tips of the stalactites. He also quickly noticed that James had once again disappeared. "Prongs?"

"Over here!" James's voice floated back from beyond the cavern.

"Where are you?" Sirius called.

"Next room over." James sounded odd. Almost dreamy. Oh, this place was really starting to get to him. The sooner they were out of here, the better. "Walk straight through the big room," James continued, "And you'll see the entrance. There's a set of thingies, uh, doors, old wooden doors. They're propped open. You'll see it."

Following James's directions, Sirius stumbled through the cavern. It wasn't quite as straightforward as his friend made it out to be. After yet another eternity, Sirius found James's wooden doors. Someone long ago had propped one open with a small boulder, and it sagged dangerously low, trying to once again swing shut. A prism of light shown from the crack, the color changing every few seconds. Blue then pink then green then red…over and over and over, the colors shifted. "Prongs?"

"Come in here, Padfoot." James sounded amazed. "You have to see this for yourself."

Obediently, he ducked through the slot between the ancient doors and entered a circular room. Sirius felt his breath catch in his throat. "Where are we?"

"No idea," James was leaning over a perfectly circular hole in the ground, from which the light continued to pulse. "It looks like," he leaned further over the hole, "It looks like there's some sort of liquid down there. Here, come see." James moved over, making room for Sirius by the hole.

Sirius leaned forward, peering past James into the hole. Not far below, the brightly colored liquid churned. Every so often, it would hit against the side of the hole, sending a spray of color into the air.

Beside James, a frog croaked, causing both boys to jump. Sirius quickly backed away from the hole. "Okay. I'm done. Let's go."

James laughed. "It's just a frog, Pads." He leaned back over the hole. "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know, Prongs." Sirius crossed his arms and scowled. "Maybe it's the Well of Sorrows," he suggested sarcastically. "Maybe it's waiting for one of us to wake it up so it can," he tried to sing the rhyme. It came out off key, "Pour into the world and then, Drown them all and bring the end."

"You can stop it with a cost," James merrily picked up the tune, "But what you love must first be lost. Deedlee-doo, Deedlee-dee."

"That's enough." Sirius decided. "I can only handle so many Deedlee-doos in one day."

"When I was a kid, I used to think that the spell at the end of the song really could stop evil," James remarked. "I'd play make-believe in the yard and sing that spell when I'd run into the bad guys."

"That's morbid," Sirius told him. Not even the Black children played a game that included spells requiring a human sacrifice.

"I didn't use the part where you had to kill someone." James joined him by the wall. "Well, I did once, but Mum caught me when I pretended to kill one of my toys. She didn't handle it too well. Nursery rhymes were banned for a bit after that."

"Do you think there really are spells that require death to cast?" Sirius wondered.

"Probably," James reclined against the wall. "It would have to be the darkest of magic, though." He watched the changing colors dance across the ceiling. "Padfoot?"

"Hmm?" Sirius pulled one knee to his chest and wrapped his arms around it.

"Would you do it?" James asked thoughtfully.

"Do what?" Sirius laid his chin on his knee.

"If you had to cast a spell that would save the world, but it required killing someone, would you do it?" James asked.

"Do I get to choose who I kill?" Sirius countered. "Because if the person was Snivellus, sure." He snorted. "No loss there. But if it was you, no way."

"Even if it was the only way to stop an ancient evil force from completely destroying everything?" James asked.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Prongs, you're my best mate. I would die before I would raise my wand against you." Seriously, did James really think that little of him? "I can't believe you have to ask me that."

"Do you think the spell in the song is real?" James asked again.

"It's as real as the Well of Sorrows," Sirius told him, climbing to his feet "Are we done here? I'm ready to get out of this place. Besides, Moony's going to give us an earful for leaving him behind and I'd like to just get it over with. We're right gits, you know, forgetting about him."

"Yeah. We should have just pulled him up when we first got here," James agreed. "Let's go get him." He took Sirius's offered hand and pulled himself to his feet. As he did, he stumbled forward, his shoe kicking a small rock into the hole.

The ground rumbled.

"That doesn't sound good," James said slowly.

The ground rumbled again, harder this time. Sirius felt himself fall back against the wall. His fingers dug into the rock as he tried to keep himself on his feet. In front of him, some of the liquid sloshed violently from the hole. "I think it's definitely time to leave," Sirius growled.

The words barely left his mouth when the room shook violently. The brightly colored liquid leapt higher from the hole and splashed onto the rock centimeters from their shoes, covering the frog. In horror, Sirius watched as the amphibian froze, then turned to ash and sunk into the liquid.

"Run!" James hollered, pushing him towards the door. "Get out! Get out! Get out!"

Blindly, Sirius felt himself stumble forward through the slot in the doors. The entire mountain shook again and he sprawled forward. James tripped over him, landing across his back a moment later. Pushing him off, Sirius rolled over in time to see the liquid from the hole spilling into the circular chamber. It rolled over the smooth, stone floor and began flowing towards them. Scrambling back, Sirius fumbled for his wand. His fingers closed around it and he pulled it free from his pocket. "_Accio_ rock!"

The old stone that had long served as a door jam flew away from the sagging wooden door. With a dull thud, the ancient door collapsed, blocking the hole from view. James pointed his own wand at a large wooden beam and hollered something above the commotion. Creaking, the beam fell forward and slammed into place, barring the door. James gave it a long look before collapsing backwards on the floor.

Panting heavily, Sirius crawled over to James and fell onto the floor beside him. "What the hell was that?"

"Lures people in with promises of riches, easily disturbed, turns living things to ash," James ticked off, between sucking in deep breaths. "_That_ is the Well of Sorrows."

Slowly, Sirius rolled over to look at James. "That isn't funny, Prongs."

James propped himself up on one elbow and looked warily in the direction of the doors. "I wasn't joking." Wincing, he sat up slowly. "My Dad, he's always been into tracking down tales. He thinks there's a bit of truth behind every folk story." James inclined his head towards the doors. "I think that's the truth behind the Well of Sorrows story. Except there's no treasure, and nobody ever said anything about the odd light show."

The lyrics to the old rhyme danced with a macabre grandeur through Sirius's head. As they did, an ill feeling developed in his stomach. "Prongs." He grabbed his friend's hand. "The line about the overflowing, glittering pot. It isn't a treasure. It's describing that room."

James's eyes met Sirius's and for a long moment, neither spoke. Sirius didn't have to ask. He knew what was going through his friend's mind – _It's all true_ – followed closely behind with – _What do we do now?_

"Dumbledore," James said breathlessly. "He'll know what to do. He's the most powerful wizard alive." He clamored to his feet and began running back the way they came.

Sirius paused as the wooden doors shuddered. "Prongs…." He started, glancing over his shoulder. The next words got caught in his throat as he saw James standing deathly still beside the wall. "What?"

"The hole is gone." James said, his voice hollow. "It was right here. All the shaking…it set the rocks free. It…"

Across the cavern, the door shuddered again.

"We're trapped." Sirius finished. He looked at the doors. "How long do you think those things will hold it?"

James was waving his wand at the wall. "Not long enough." He jabbed his wand at the wall again and again. Nothing happened. "We have a bigger problem."

"We're about to be trapped in a room with some sort of thing that will turn us to ash if it touches us," Sirius snapped, "How can it get any worse?"

James returned to the center of the room, pushing his glasses up his nose. "When the rocks fell…there are all these little cracks. They're too small for people to get through…"

"But large enough for liquid," Sirius finished, whispering. It was going to get out. If this place was real, and the Well was real, and the effects were real…. "James. James, it's going to destroy…"

"I know." James said softly.

Sirius forced himself to stand. "We have to stop it!" He started towards the door, which gave another violent shake. "There's got to be some way to stop it!"

Reality set in and he froze. If everything was real, then that meant… Slowly, Sirius turned back towards James. "No."

"You can stop it with a cost, But what you love must first be lost. Deedlee-doo, Deedlee-dee," James sang darkly, reprising the rhyme he'd sung so happily only fifteen minutes earlier.

Sirius felt himself shudder. "We can't."

"It's all real, Padfoot," James said softly. "If everything else is real, then the spell is real." He paused, "And the cost is real."

"No." Sirius repeated. There had to be another way. There was _always_ another way. In every story where the hero had to make the choice between two evils, a third option always presented itself in the end. _Come on, Black. You're supposed to be a genius. Where is Door Number Three?_

"There isn't one," James said softly. Noticing Sirius's surprised look, he elaborated, "You were just thinking there had to be another way, but there isn't. There isn't another choice and there isn't any more time." He took a deep breath and let it out.

"I'm not killing you, Prongs." The words fell out of his mouth before he even realized he was speaking them. "And I don't think you're willing to kill me."

James stared at the doors. "Then we're both dead, and so are Moony, everyone in Hogsmeade," he paused before whispering, "Evans…"

"And everyone at Hogwarts," Sirius finished. He stared at James.

James stared back.

"Do you know how to apparate? If you do, we could apparate back to the castle, grab Snivellus, and use him." The door shuddered violently as the Well's contents slammed into it again.

"I can't apparate, and even if I could, you can't apparate in or out of Hogwarts," James replied sourly. "Don't you ever listen to Moony?"

"Not really, no." Sirius admitted. "When he starts talking about the random things he reads in books, I just hear crickets. Actually, whenever anyone says the word 'books,' I start to hear crickets."

"Why am I not surprised," James muttered. He looked at the door again, then back towards the exit. The blocked exit. The blocked exit that would only hold this thing another ten minutes after it swept through the chamber and destroyed them. "You know that game Evans and Moony play to see who gets the worst prefect duties? The one with the scissors?"

Sirius just stared at him. Only James Potter would talk about the random things Lily Evans did at a time like this. "Uh, yeah. Rock, Paper, Scissors. It's a Muggle game kids play. Prongs, I don't see…"

James took a shaky breath and let it out. "We play three rounds. Best two out of three wins."

"Wins what?" Sirius asked. What did Rock, Paper, Scissors have to do with stopping an ancient evil thing that was going to kill hundreds of people?

"The choice of who casts the spell," James said softly.

_Oh, no._ There was a great rushing noise in his ears as James's words registered. _No. We can't. No. There has to be another way._

"We promise each other right now that whoever makes the choice, it's final," James continued. "The other one can't override it. If you win, you can choose to cast it or you can choose to have me cast it. Same with me." He held out a fisted hand. "On three."

"Prongs…" Sirius started.

"People are going to _die_, Sirius. Hundreds of people. Maybe more. This is the only way." James looked down at his fist. "On three," he repeated.

_This isn't happening. It cannot be happening. This sort of twisted…thing does not happen in real life._ In a daze, Sirius placed his fist beside James's and heard his voice whisper, "One."

"Two." James said.

"Three." Together they made their choices. Sirius looked down at his rock and James's scissors.

"That's one for you." James made a fist again. "One."

James was predictable. He'd pull the same thing again. Sirius was half convinced that James believed the object of the game was to keep choosing scissors. It was simple, he could pull rock, win the choice, and then…

And then what? Condemn his best friend to death?

He didn't want to die. He was only a kid. And he'd screwed up. A lot. He'd always assumed there would be time to make it right. He'd been godawful to Regulus. Just yesterday, he'd threatened harm up and down on his brother after Regulus hexed him in the hall. His brother might be ignorant, but that was really Mum and Dad's fault for filling his mind with all that pure blood nonsense. Regulus certainly didn't deserve to be constantly tormented by his older sibling and his friends. And what about Mum and Dad? He was constantly disappointing them. While he didn't think he'd ever be the son they wanted, he could at least, well, he could have tried harder to think about their feelings. He could have at least held his tongue at the dinner table when one of them made a remark that would be inappropriate except among other blood supremacists. He could have tried seeing them as people with flawed beliefs instead of The Enemy. And then there were the kids at school, the ones he'd jinx in the hall just because he could. And yeah, it was funny, but they didn't deserve it – well, Snivellus did, but he was a special case.

"Two."

He wanted to make things right, but he couldn't – wouldn't – kill his best friend for the opportunity. He'd almost caused the death of a friend before. He wasn't about to…

"Three."

With a cold detachment that was creepy in and of itself, James glanced down at his own scissors and Sirius's paper. "One for me. Okay. Next one wins. One."

It was surreal. An hour ago, he had been laughing with James and Remus. Thirty minutes ago, he'd been giving James a hard time for singing a stupid song while they were on the ledge outside the cave. Now he was playing this macabre game to decide who got to choose who lived and who died.

"Two," James said slowly.

Sirius felt James's eyes meet his own and in that moment, he knew that if James won the choice, James would choose to have Sirius cast the spell. James always put his friends and family before himself. Of the two of them, James Potter was the one who actually gave a damn about other people. He was the one who thought about how everyone would die if the well was released. He was the one who would willingly sacrifice himself without thinking twice to save a friend.

The world needed James Potter. It didn't need Sirius Black. He knew James. He knew his best friend better than anyone else…and he knew that James would choose scissors yet again.

So now he had the choice.

He could choose paper and give the choice to James…or he could choose rock and make the choice himself. The right choice.

And suddenly, with the decision, came peace.

He would do what he had to do and then James would do what he needed to do. While it would surely be hard for James, he was a survivor. He'd eventually come to terms with it, recognize that it was the only way.

Dying wouldn't hurt that much. They said the killing curse was instantaneous. One second you were there and the next…. What happened next? Was there a Next? He'd never really given it much thought. He knew Moony believed in a Next. He suspected Prongs and Wormie believed in some sort of Next, though it wasn't something they really talked about. Did you have to believe in Next for it to apply to you? How did it work? What if your family was, well, the Blacks, who really didn't believe in anything but the superiority of the Blacks but you died in a very selfless way? Did your attempts at being good somehow count towards getting a Next?

No more time to think about that. He'd made his decision. This was it. Sirius shut his eyes.

"Three."

There was silence. Then, James's voice shook. "Damn. I thought you would choose scissors."

Sirius opened one eye. His hand was still clenched in a fist. James's was flat. He felt his throat close up. He should have felt as if a burden had lifted. He didn't have to choose his own death. It was out of his hands…

But he didn't need to look at James to know what his friend decided.

"Here." James held out his wand. "It'll be easier with two wands. One to do the unforgivable curse, one to do the charm to reverse the well."

"Prongs," Sirius looked at the wand. "There _has_ to be another way."

"There isn't," James told him, holding out the wand again. "This is the only one."

"James…"

"You promised, Sirius." James's eyes flashed. "Whoever won got to choose and the other one would do whatever was asked. You _promised_. If you won, if you chose to have me do the spell, I would have done it. I would have done it because one of us is going to die either way and at least," James's voice caught, but he plowed ahead, "At least if we do the spell, one of us lives, and so does everyone else. This is my choice, so just do the spell or I'll die hating you when that makeshift dam breaks."

He felt his fingers curl around James's wand. "I'm not ready," he whispered.

"Just be ready by the time that wood breaks." James took a few steps back, and shut his eyes. Sirius watched his friend's chest rise and fall as James took several long, slow breaths. James opened one eye. "Padfoot? Promise me one more thing?"

"Anything." He meant it. If James asked him to run through the Gates of Hell screaming, he would have.

"Promise me you won't let Evans marry Snivellus."

Sirius stared at him dumbfounded. "Of all the last requests to make…"

The wall shuddered violently. The cracks in the ancient wood began to glow as the boards slowly began to split apart.

"This is it!" James hollered. "Get ready."

_WHERE IS THE OTHER WAY? WHERE IS IT?_ As he raised both wands, Sirius wracked his brain, trying to remember what he'd learned, trying to remember all the things Remus tried to pound into his head. There had to be one.

And with a final snap, the wall gave way. The liquid from the well surged forward into the chamber, churning with bright colors that, in any other place and time, would have looked happy and festive. Sirius caught James's eye across the cavern.

"Now, Sirius!" James was still hollering at him. "Do it now!"

Shaking violently, he raised one arm to point at the magic wave rushing towards him, ready to utter the spell the moment after…. Taking one last breath, he screamed the first spell above the roar. "_Avada…_"

~...~...~

The silence was only interrupted by the slow ticking of a grandfather clock and the occasional sniffle from Sirius Black. The boy swiped at his eyes again with the back of his free hand, then offered, "You showed up not long after."

"Professor, this is my fault," Lupin started. "It was my idea to go looking for the cave. I was the one who deciphered the clues, and…"

Dumbledore held up a hand. "What happened is no one's _fault_. If blame belongs anywhere, it belongs with me. I knew what was in that cavern, but never thought for a moment that anyone would be able to reach it, let alone find a way inside. A person would need four good legs to navigate that terrain."

"About that, sir," Lupin interrupted.

"Moony, _no._" Black sat straight up in bed.

For the first time, Lupin shook his arm free from Black's grasp. "He needs to know everything, Sirius! James is _dead_ for Merlin's sake! I don't think this secret is really on the same level, do you?" He looked back at Dumbledore, a stubborn look on his face. "They're Animagi. They did it for me."

'They' most certainly meant Sirius Black and James Potter, and possibly Peter Pettigrew as well. "Because a werewolf only attacks humans," Dumbledore finished. He glanced at Black, who had once again crumbled in upon himself, then back at Lupin. Illegal Animagi, at least, were easy to deal with. "I see. Well, that doesn't need to become a concern of the ministry. Professor McGonagall will draw up registration certificates and that will be that. We'll call it an…extra credit assignment." And now came the difficult part. Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Mr. Lupin. I'm sure you can appreciate that Mr. Black has witnessed a traumatic experience and is incapable of clear recollection at the moment."

Puzzlement appeared in Lupin's eyes before the meaning sunk in. Slowly, he nodded. "He's in shock, sir?" The boy paused before adding more confidently. "He can't provide anyone with a true account of what occurred in the cavern."

"No." Black shook his head. "I remember everything. I _know_ what happened." He glared at Lupin and was met with an expressionless mask. "I killed James, Moony." He said. When he didn't get a response, he repeated it louder, rising from the ball he had curled into. "I killed James! My best friend! Don't you get it? Doesn't anyone get it? I MURDERED MY BEST FRIEND! He's lying DEAD under a DAMN SHEET because I KILLED HIM! You can't just pretend it didn't happen! You can't! Because it _did_ and I did it and I should go to Azkaban and be sentenced to the Kiss because _I KILLED JAMES_!" The final words barely left his mouth before he fell back onto the bed and wept.

"I think now is the time when you will need to leave, Mr. Lupin. You may wait outside if you want." He waited until the door shut behind Lupin before turning to Black. "Sirius?" He laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Sirius, you didn't murder anyone."

"I…curse…_Avada Kedavra_…" Black choked out between sobs.

"Do you know why Professor McGonagall came along with me this afternoon?" Dumbledore asked kindly.

The response sounded vaguely like "Head of House."

"No. I brought Professor McGonagall along because I knew what was in that cave. I suspected that you and Mr. Potter awakened it, and I knew there was only one way to keep it from being released and killing everyone in Hogsmade, and at Hogwarts, and beyond." He paused. "If we arrived in time - which, based upon what you've told me, we would not have - I intended for Professor McGonagall to perform the spell."

Sirius Black became still, then slowly lifted his head from the blankets to look up at him. "Sir?"

"I don't expect you to understand this right now, and it may take you years to recognize it, but there wasn't another way, Sirius. If you and James Potter had not done what you did, we would all be dead right now." He paused to make sure he had the boy's attention. "What James did was brave and honorable. You may have been the instrument, but they were his actions and his choice. You are not going to Azkaban, and no dementor is going to give you the Kiss."

"But we shouldn't have been there. We weren't supposed to leave Hogsmeade, but we did. If we had just stayed where we were supposed to be, James and I wouldn't have woken it up to begin with. And if we hadn't…" Black protested.

"I'm not going to tell you that what you did wasn't foolish. We both know it was. But you didn't know what you were getting yourselves into. You thought it was just a story. And it _was_ an accident. We do not send children to Azkaban for accidents." He paused to allow Black to process what he said. When it appeared the words registered, he continued. "I do believe, however, that it may be best for the remainder of your Fifth Year studies to be conducted elsewhere, not because we no longer want you at Hogwarts, but because you won't be able to heal if you remain here. I'll discuss the options with your parents."

"They won't care," Black told him. "They hate me."

"You might be surprised, then, to learn that they are here and that they are very worried about you. Your brother is also here. He's waiting outside in the hallway, no doubt keeping Mr. Lupin company." Dumbledore rose from his chair. "You don't have to always agree with your parents, Sirius, but you also don't have to let your beliefs prevent you from caring for them. We are all flawed people."

"Sir?" Sirius wrapped a blanket around himself and rocked slightly. "What are you going to tell James's parents?"

"I'm going to tell them that you and Mr. Potter went investigating an old children's story that, unfortunately, turned out to be true, and that Mr. Potter sacrificed himself to save his friends and schoolmates. To the extent further information is needed, I believe the _Prior Incantato_ spell will demonstrate that the killing curse initiated from Mr. Potter's wand." Dumbledore paused at the door. "That, I believe, is the most accurate version of the events." Opening the door he turned to the two boys who were sitting slumped against the wall. "Gentlemen, you may visit with Mr. Black now."

"Sirius!" The younger Black boy jumped to his feet and ran into the hospital wing, apparently forgetting that he was fourteen and thought himself too old for displays of affection, especially towards a brother with whom he was always feuding. Dumbledore turned in time to see Regulus Black engulf his older brother in a fierce hug. "Everyone said someone died, and that you and James Potter…and I'm sorry I hexed you yesterday, and I really don't think you're an evil git," the boy rattled.

"Sir?" Lupin interrupted softly. "What's going to happen to Sirius?"

"I suspect he'll need quite a bit of help to get through the upcoming months, but eventually he'll be alright." Dumbledore looked down at the boy. "It will, of course, be easier with support from his friends."

"Yes, well," Lupin looked at his shoes for a moment before raising his eyes with more confidence than Dumbledore had ever seen from the boy, "That's who friends are - the people who know your darkest secret and still stand beside you." He turned and entered the hospital wing. With a thud, the door swung shut behind him.

~finis~


End file.
